The park surrounding Chicago’s historic Water Tower would be renamed “Jane M. Byrne Plaza” in honor of the former mayor under a proposal endorsed today by the City Council Finance Committee.

Aldermen set aside other proposed ways to honor Byrne after the former mayor’s daughter, Kathy Byrne, said the park idea was endorsed by her mother and family. The full council will vote Wednesday to honor a mayor who served from 1979 to 1983.

“It goes back many, many generations that my family was in that area,” Byrne told aldermen. “My great, great grandfather, who was the first of my forbears to come to Chicago, lived in that area during the time of the Chicago Fire. And the Water Tower is a survivor, and my mother is a survivor, and Chicago is a survivor. And I think that would be a tremendous way to honor her, by dedicating that park to my mom.”

Good grief. Do something constructive with your time and energy. Renaming an historic landmark for a politician is sad. If you're compelled to rename things, confine it to those things created during the person's lifetime or time in office. Better yet, just put up a shiny plaque on...

Ald. Ed Burke, 14th, chairman of the committee and the one who proposed finding a way to honor Byrne after a Sun-Times gossip columnist who worked for Byrne decades ago promoted the idea, immediately agreed with Kathy Byrne, who awaited the hearing in his office.

“It would indeed be appropriate to be present for a rededication of that beautiful symbol at a new Mayor Jane Byrne Plaza at the Water Tower,” Burke said.

Earlier, Burke noted the name change of the park on North Michigan Avenue between Pearson Street and Chicago Avenue would remedy “what many believe is a long overdue failure to honor one of Chicago’s most significant political figures and the only woman to ever serve as mayor of Chicago and indeed the only woman to ever serve as mayor of a major American city.”

Kathy Byrne also said the Water Tower served as inspiration for her mother in tough times, whether they were budget woes or a looming Chicago teachers strike.

“During the time that my mom was mayor, and for many years both before and after, she lived right across the street from that park, and she said that whatever the trouble was in the city, whatever the crisis that was brewing, she could look at and see that Water Tower and say, ‘You survived the fire, and there was no city left, and you made it.’”

“So whatever matter was before her, she knew that everyone would be all right, and it was a great symbol of hope and inspiration to her. So that would be what the family would very much like. ”

She also suggested that the Children’s Fountain her mother dedicated on Upper Wacker Drive, which was later relocated to Lincoln Park, be moved to the Water Tower Plaza. “That would put everything into a wonderful package,” she said. Aldermen did not make any recommendation on that idea.

Kathy Byrne and aldermen lauded Jane Byrne for the creation of Taste of Chicago and other music festivals, building “L” lines to the city’s two airports, promoting local movie filming and banning handguns in the city of Chicago.

But her single term was not without controversy, most notably labor strife that manifested itself in the form of teachers, CTA and firefighters’ strikes. She is perhaps best known for moving into the Cabrini Green housing project for a time in an effort to address violence in the city.

Jane Byrne, 80, had a stroke last year, but “she’s been recovering very steadily,” her daughter said, adding her mother was pleased with the honor. “She’s thrilled.”

Jane Byrne's political career had its ups and downs with many firsts on her list of accomplishments: the first female mayor of Chicago, first female co-chairman of the Cook County Democratic Organization, the first female commissioner in a major American city. After she lost her bid for a second...

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